Nepali Times - Digital Himalaya

#571
16 - 22 September 2011
18 pages
Rs 30
Patan’’s literary jatra
T
he historical Patan Darbar Square is hosting a
first-time literature festival over the weekend.
More than 30 well known national and international
writers will hold forth on languages, minority voices,
journalism, politics, history and books, books, books.
They include Akshay Pathak, Alka Saraogi, Jug Suraiya,
Namita Gokhale, Shazia Omar, Tarun Tejpal, William
Dalrymple, Mohammed Hanif and our own Abhi
Subedi, Anbika Giri, Naryan Wagle, Rabi Thapa and
Sanjeev Uprety, among others.
BIKRAM RAI
INSIDE
p8-9
Full program of the Kathmandu Literary Jatra,
p11
Rabi Thapa on reading between the lines at the Jatra,
p6-7
Next week, a young Nepali woman with cerebral palsy, whose only way of
communicating is by writing with her foot, is being awarded Nepal’’s most
prestigious literary prize, the Madan Puraskar
p16
The Nepali translation of Ani Choying Drolma’’s auto-biography, Singing for
Freedom, titled Phoolko Ankhama is being launched later this month p11
p17
Collection of Wayne Amtzis poetry, Quicksand Nation, looks at Nepal’’s war
in the context of the unhappy peace that preceded and followed it
2 EDITORIAL
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
REALITY CHECK
A
cross-section of Nepalis we spoke to on a
swing through central Nepal this week were
unanimous in their support for Baburam
Bhattarai. After months of paralyzing deadlock,
there is hope that the new prime minister’’s intellect
and integrity will help unknot the hopelessly
tangled politics.
Ordinary Nepalis are clutching at straws. This
positive perception of Bhattarai, even by those not
traditionally well-disposed to the Maoist party,
stems from a feeling that desperate times call for
desperate measures. Most are willing to overlook
the lack of transparency in the four-point agreement
with the Madhesi front that allowed Bhattarai to be
propelled to Singha Darbar. They brush aside the
Maoist support for the Madhes autonomy proposal
as politically expedient, and they are even willing
to ignore the clause on the general amnesty to
those accused of wartime atrocities. This desire to
see Bhattarai succeed has prompted many activist
wallahs to soft-pedal the agreement that made him
prime minister.
But the international community has now taken
serious note of the amnesty clause. Undeterred,
the new Maoist-appointed Attorney General Mukti
Pradhan has made an outrageous statement that all
murder cases against Maoist leaders from the war
years will be dismissed.
The NC and UML, after initially promising to
behave themselves in the role of a constructive
opposition seem to have developed a deep distrust
of Maoist motives. Within the Maoist party, the
gloves have come off with Baidya faction now
openly talking of a showdown at the central
committee meeting on Monday that will decide
on whether or not to officially split off. The talk of
revolt now is of a revolt within the party.
With all this going on, the people’’s expectations
on one beleaguered prime minister may be
unrealistically high. Bhattarai himself has fed these
expectations by working 20 hours a day, getting
to work in Singha Darbar while the gates are still
locked, and getting his secretary to act on the 1,000
emails he gets every day. Although the public is
responding favourably to the crackdown on food
adulteration, the prime minister’’s relief package is
somewhat populist and it is questionable whether
curbing organized crime should come under
““emergency relief””.
The statement by Gopal Kirati this week
about floating a movement of Bahun Chhetris
is a dangerously cynical attempt to exploit a
further polarisation of Nepali society. Kirati is
so close to Pushpa Kamal Dahal that he staged a
noisy demonstration against the lack of Janajati
representation in the previous cabinet at the behest
of his boss. Which leads us to the conclusion that
Dahal is now worried that his party may have
pushed too far with ethnic politics and this may
cost him votes in the next elections because a large
chunk of ““high”” caste voters feel alienated. This is
his clumsy attempt at protecting the caste flank, but
it seriously risks driving a wedge in Nepal’’s social
fabric between Bahun Chhetris vs the rest.
The prime minister, as vice-chairman of his
party, and a PhD will not have to be told about what
a dangerous game this is. While he keeps one eye
on the current crises, Bhattarai may have to devote
some of his waking hours to the seeds of long-term
discord that are being laid by his own comrades.
DIWAKAR CHHETRI
ON THE WEB
www.nepalitimes.com
GAJANAN TO BHATTARAI
What is lost in all this euphoria about
Comrade Baburam becoming PM is that
he has just replaced excellent professional
Yubaraj Sangraula as Attorney General with
party cadre Mukti Pradhan (Editorial, #570).
You can just imagine what is now going to
happen to all the wartime atrocities. If this is
the way Baburam is going, he is going to be
worse than Prachanda.
KiranL
zIf the Maoists cannot hand in their
weapons to the government run by them
now, the question is when will they? Will
they ever?
Satya
zLet’’s not fool ourselves. Baburam
Bhattarai doesn’’t care about the nation
state known built by our ancestors or the
country that could have been Nepal. He is
the principle architect of the caste-based
federalism and has even considerably
changed the design for this in the last few
years. He aims to make Nepal a USSR
styled confederation. His connection with
the unication of Nepal notwithstanding, one
can only sympathize with the naivity of the
editor in expecting that Baburam will behave
in a certain way just because he has some
relation with Gajanan.
Nishachar
zBaburam showed his ability of good
leadership when he earned the highest
revenue during his tenure as nance
minister of Nepal, these are his abilities
to do something better. He still has those
potentials if he could unlock himself from
the shackles of outdated Maoist ideas and
Nepali Time on Facebook
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bring his own new concept of revolution and
politics for 21st century Nepal.
Tashi Lama
zBaburam’’s ancestor’’s will probably not
be too proud of how there descendent has
become PM. However, he does hold the best
chance of concluding the peace process
compared to any other leader. Whether he
will be able to conclude it is another question
altogether considering the current political
climate.
Rishav
CAN’’T EAT SLOGANS
Thank you for a very nice report on the
Madhes. (‘‘You can’’t eat slogans’’ # 570). It
is touching and gives us accurate picture of
the present Madhes and Madhesi people.
The Nepali language media should follow
the example and publish such articles, news
features and in-depth reports. It will contribute
to rebuild the harmony of the country’’s people.
Ambika
zI was totally taken aback by this completely
zThe reality is cruel in Nepal. I can’’t
imagine climbing dark staircase to the 17th
oor. Lift would have been ““the answer””
but there’’s nothing that can be done to
overcome 16 hour of load shedding.
Occupants will need to employ porters for
sure. Besides, running water in Kathmandu
is almost zero, are they magically going
to get the force of water, to reach the 17th
oor?
G Monk
9/11 DECADE
What can extremely slow individuals like myself
tell those gifted with superhuman intellect such
as Anurag Acharya who compares the bombing
of church to disaffection with America in the
Middle East and elsewhere in the world, when
GON is headed by a character who justied the
murder of many, and denied the genocide in
Cambodia and elsewhere? (‘‘9/11 decade’’ #570)
Soni
BOW TO WOW
It is shocking that there are 22,000 street
dogs in the city, many in a pitiable condition
(‘‘From bow to wow’’, #570). We picked up a
tiny puppy from the roadside one dark loadshedding night, took her home and now she
is a part of our lives. She is healthy and very
lovable. When we take her out on her lead,
people stop us and ask if she is a foreign
dog but they are surprised when we say she
is a Nepali mongrel.
Bridget
new perspective on the Madhes. The article
has revealed the Achille’’s heel of the Madheshi
leaders, they are just creating a hullaboo in the
capital in the name of Madheshi people who
hate them.
Mahesh S
zIndia should follow Nepal’’s example and
make the Terrorist-in-chief the head of the
government. Terrorist problem solved.
Jange
zHow many Madhesis are actually
Nepalis? How many Madhesi families were
there when Nepal was formed? There
should be investigation into the citizenship,
those who are not Nepalis should not be
given citizenship and those issued without
investigation should be scrapped.
numbers of people in the Madesh themselves
don’’t agree,”” then it could put more pressure on
those who are deciding things like federalism.
Ushaft
WC
zHimalmedia should conduct a large scale
and systematic opinion poll in different parts of
the country including the Tarai region, to gauge
public opinion on issues of federalism, ethnic
issues and identity, religion (secularism) and so
on. The above story is nice, but if there’’s more
evidence to back up claims like ““overwhelming
FALLING FOR FLATS
As long as these high rises are made with
genuine materials and with highest earthquake
safety standards, vertical housing is the best
for Kathmandu city (‘‘State of the real estate’’,
#570). From the safety point of view, and to
meet the demand of rapidly growing population
of Kathmandu I myself would go for apartment
rather than a single house. I only wish the
apartments were more affordable to the middle
class.
Sherpa
Weekly Internet Poll # 571
Q. Home Minister Bijay Gachhadar’’s remark that
he will make the country corruption free is:
Total votes: 2,155
Weekly Internet Poll # 572. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com
Q. Should the Prime Minister travel in
economy class?
Publisher and Editor: Kunda Dixit
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OP-ED 3
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
JOHN NARAYAN PARAJULI
Where justice
is a game
Perpetrators of war crimes often assume power
to use their positions to escape prosecution
BY THE WAY
Anurag Acharya
O
n 25 April, 2006, with the nation still in a state of euphoria after the
people’’s movement, 15 security personnel under the command of
army captain Prahlad Thapa Magar raped and murdered Sapana
Gurung, a resident of Belbari of Morang. The medical report conrmed she
had been shot dead after being raped. When villagers demonstrated in front
of the army base, security forces opened re, killing six people and injuring
dozens.
A parliamentary probe conrmed the involvement of Prahlad Thapa
Magar and two others, Bir Bahadur Mahara and Nirmal Kumar Panta,
recommending immediate arrests and a criminal investigation. Five years
on, the incident has vanished from the public memory. "Even after repeated
request, the government has refused to give us a copy of the report," says
Mandira Sharma of Advocacy Forum who has been following the case.
At least 16,000 people were killed in the war. There is no ofcial study
to show how may died in direct combat on both sides and how many were
actually raped, tortured and murdered. But even some emblematic cases
like that of Maina Sunuwar and Muktinath Adhikari are enough to expose the
fault-lines in our judicial system.
When Maoist politburo member Agni Sapkota, accused in the murder of
Arjun Lama of Kavre in May 2005, was appointed Minister for Information and
Communication in the Jhalnath Khanal government, there was widespread
condemnation by human rights bodies nationally and internationally. A
delegation of Nepal’’s human rights activists even led a PIL in the Supreme
Court but they could not prevent Sapkota from taking the ofce.
These are just two cases of justice being denied, not because of lack of
evidence or laws, but because supremacy of law has been challenged by
political and military institutions that refuse to submit to its jurisdiction.
Last month, the Maoists and the Madhesi alliance signed 4-point deal
which, among other things, talks about extending blanket amnesty in
excesses perpetrated during the conict period. After taking ofce, Baburam
Bhattarai claried that the cases will rst be investigated to ascertain the
seriousness of the crime. It is within government’’s power to grant amnesty,
but given the history of atrocities, it is ethically wrong and
violates the victims’’ right to justice.
Similarly, the failure of the government to ensure civil court trials against
army and police involved in extra-judicial killings and shameful silence on
the matter across the political spectrum and civil society is an indication that
security institutions have not submitted to civilian control. Investigation into
civilian casualties is jurisdiction of the state and the Nepal Army’’s refusal to
cooperate in prosecuting personnel involved in such cases in a civil court
makes it a violator of the law of the land (Army Act 2006, Art. 63, 66).
Yubaraj Sangraula, who defended Agni Sapkota as Attorney General
told me this week: ““The court cannot prosecute a person on the basis of
an FIR and a report which does not have a legal standing.”” Experts like
Sangraula believe the problem lies in Nepal’’s criminal justice system which
lacks the institutional framework to bring the crimes committed in special
circumstances like war, where no FIR are led or statements have not been
submitted, within the legal jurisdiction.
Global experience shows perpetrators often assume posts of power and
use their positions to escape prosecution. Nepal’’s post-conict managers
must learn from it and come up with legal provision for an independent
body that can probe into such cases and ensure effective remedies where
grave injustice has been done. The need for an independent Truth and
Reconciliation body stems out of this logic.
In the last few weeks, the Baburam Bhattarai government sent a positive
message about its commitment to democracy and rule of law. But if it is
sincere about what it says, it must help in the investigation of wrongdoings
involving its members. Similarly, Nepal Army’’s empty commitments to civilian
supremacy will not clean its tainted human rights record.
The administration of justice is the foremost duty of the government, and
Bhattarai has the job of bringing all sides to the table to complete the peace
process, while making them accountable for their deeds.
The pursuit for justice has been a mirage. It can’’t wait any longer.
4 MEDIA
Sajha Sawal is 200
BBC Nepali’’s popular radio discussion program hits a second century
W
hen Narayan
Shrestha of Sajha
Sawal radio
discussion program goes
anywhere in Nepal these
days, people throng the
venue just to catch a glimpse
of the dapper presenter.
It just goes to show how
popular radio is in Nepal and
reflects approval for the way
in which Shrestha afflicts the
powerful.
Friday, 16 September
marks the 200th episode
of the immensely popular
Sajha Sawal radio discussion
program that has been
broadcasting continuously
since 2007 on the BBC Nepali
Service.
““It was hard to get people
to ask questions initially,””
Shrestha admitted in an
interview with Nepali Times
this week, ““they mostly gave
suggestions. We had to run
an orientation on how to
ask questions.”” Four years
later, the program’’s format
has become famous for sharp
and hard-hitting exchanges
between public figures on the
stage and a citizen audience.
Imitation being the best
form of flattery, Sajha Sawal
has spawned a whole lot
of similar radio and tv
discussion programs. But
when it started four years
ago, it was a revolutionary
format for radio and TV
in Nepal: common people
asking questions to a panel
of invitees which included
political leaders, bureaucrats
and experts.
““Our idea initially
was to involve the
common people’’s voice in
constitution making and
peace process,”” Shrestha
says, but as the program
started traveling across
the country the discussions
soon ranged from agriculture,
foreign employment,
local development and
infrastructure.
In the last 200 episodes,
Shrestha has witnessed
big political leaders being
humbled by ordinary citizens,
like when Pushpa Kamal
Dahal was silenced by a
question from a student in RR
Campus.
But ultimately, Shrestha
says, the public’’s concern is
not with the nitty-gritty of
politics or tedious theorising
by civil society stalwarts but
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
with day-to-day survival
issues. ““They just want the
politics to get in order so that
they can get by,”” Shrestha
says. ““People are concerned
more about availability of
seeds, fertilisers, jobs, better
schools for their children and
health facilities.””
One of the most
memorable episodes on
Sajha Sawal was with
horticulturalist Kedar
Budhathoki who developed
a unique wilt-resistant,
high yielding variety of
tomato called Srijana. The
program which was shot in
Budhathoki’’s farm elicited a
wave of enthusiasm among
Nepalis.
““Even till today we get
at least one call a week
inquiring about Budhathoki’’s
super tomatoes,”” Shrestha
says.
Besides listeners
nationwide who listen to the
BBC Nepali Service, Sajha
Sawal registers 7,000 hits a
week in the BBC Nepali’’s
website and is popular among
the Nepali diaspora. The
program also travelled to
the UK and US where issues
concerning overseas Nepalis
were also discussed.
Rubeena Mahato
nepalitimes.com
Sajha Sawal audio clips
Karnali community
HARIDEVI ROKAYA in JUMLA
JUMLA - I was 16 and waiting for my SLC
results when I made my rst radio program
for the Karnali’’s rst radio station here in
Jumla. It was a program for children, to
provide them with knowledge they would
not get from textbooks in an entertaining
way. It was challenging and exciting for me,
but it also brought plenty of criticism in our
patriarchal society. I had gone against the
traditional norms of society, and what was
expected of young women. I had to go out
into the countryside to collect information
for my program, often in the company of
men. The work at the radio meant staying
late at the station, meeting new people
every day. All this gave plenty of grist for
the gossipers in town. Fortunately I had a
mother was fully supportive and cushioned
me from the criticism.
My colleague Krishnamaya Hamal’’s
mother wasn’’t as supportive, and came
under so much pressure at home that she
had to abandon her dream of working as
journalist. There are many young women
like her here in the Karnali who have had
to give up their aspirations to serve in
the media.
So imagine my pride and sense of
achievement when we established the
Karnali’’s rst all-women FM station, Nari Awaz
last month. Back then, I had never imagined
that seven years later we would have our
own station to broadcast programs on gender
issues and women’’s empowerment. We
overcame the obstacles, the rumour mongers
and naysayers, the technical and nancial
difculties and we challenged societal norms
to set up Nari Awaz.
In this we were assisted by women
working in different elds in Jumla who
had the conviction that a radio station
would strengthen their voice and make
a difference in a society that is lagging
behind the rest of the country precisely
because more of its women are not
involved in decision-making. It has been an
uphill struggle, but the day the transmitter
tower went up and stood out against the
deep blue monsoon sky was the proudest
moment of my life. It is now a question of
providing meaningful and relevant content
to the listeners of Nari Awaz, who I might
add are not just women. Nari Awaz may
be an all-women radio station but its most
important role is to educate and inform
menfolk of the Karnali as well.
Today, I believe the Karnali Zone has
a reason to smile. Women in the Karnali
now have a sizable presence in the media
sector, and Nari Awaz will set an example
for other women to also take up journalism
to spread awareness about the role
women can play in uplifting the Karnali
community.
Haridevi Rokaya is the Jumla
correspondent of the BBC Nepali Service.
MEDIA 5
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
The new radio revolution
THIS IS IT
Rubeena Mahato
I
n the 14 years since Radio
Sagarmatha became the
first FM station to get a
broadcasting license, Nepal’’s
radio revolution has survived
regime change, crackdowns
in newsrooms, and crippling
power cuts.
The quality of the
content may not match the
quantitative growth of radio
from Jumla to Taplejung, but
the stations have been serving
people so far left out of the
informationsphere. Travelling
across Nepal today, one of the
most noticeable things apart
from new roads are the new
transmission towers. Even in
the remotest of places, there
are FM stations playing songs
in local dialects, running
adult literacy classes and SLC
tuitions on air.
These radios achieve
a rare goal in a country
where half the people are
still illiterate: they keep the
people informed, engage
them in the information
production process and help
in development and rural
empowerment.
Four months back
while travelling through
Darchula in far-western
Nepal, I met an enterprising
farmer, Hari Singh Mal.
After hearing horticulturist
Kedar Budhathoki talk
about a wilt-resistant variety
of tomatoes, Hari Singh
introduced tough tomatoes
known as Srijana in his
farm. The breed developed
by scientist Budhathoki
yielded him 10 kg of
tomatoes from a single plant.
Since Nepal Telecom
extended its service to
Gokule, Hari Singh is now
a mobile user and listens to
Saugat FM, broadcast from
neighbouring Baitadi in his
new handset. BBC Nepali
and the Ujyalo FM network
are now the most popular
programs being syndicated
by local stations. Programs
on current affairs, national
politics, economy and
agriculture reach people all
over the country via these
channels.
Numerous FMs are
run solely by women (see
overleaf), a phenomenon
that is yet to happen in
print or TV. There are now
all-women community
radios in Parbat, Udaypur,
Morang and many other
places. Bringing in women,
farmers, students and the
rural community into
its programming and
production, community
radio comes closest to being
a democratic media in
Nepal today. It empowers
citizens with information,
and spreads awarensss about
rights and development.
Now radio is on the
cusp of a new revolution:
extending its reach through
the internet. ““Radio are
no more restricted to the
range of the signal from the
transmitter, we can now
broadcast worldwide through
the net,”” explains Gopal
Guragain of Ujyalo FM which
recently made the switch to
digital first streaming audio
through the net.
Ujyalo is now being
heard by Nepalis in 105
countries and gets regular
feedback from Saudi Arabia,
US and UK, with 5,000
hits daily. This has led to
a more diaspora-focused
programming and
allowed global
Nepalis to connect
to the concerns of
their communities
back home. A Jhapali
living in the US can
now directly listen
to a local FM from
Damak. People can
go back to programs
in the archives,
listen, comment and
view the content in a
multimedia format.
Many people
today hardly
remember the
struggle and years
of lobbying that have gone in
freeing frequency modulation
for private broadcasters.
Today, community radios
in Nepal are grappling with
coming-of-age problems
like political control,
commercialism, centralised
syndicated content, and
erosion in quality of
programming.
The challenge is to
preserve the participatory
and grassroots nature of the
medium, ensure sustainability
and find ways to improve
quality amidst rising
commercial pressures.
LIFE TIMES
A pen between
PICS: JANA ASENBRENNEROVA
““A sense of belonging””
In the beginning of his new book
‘‘The Times of My Life’’ Jug Suraiya
recounts the heady young days at JS
magazine, the iconic Indian magazine
for the pre-internet, pre-cable, preShining India youth of India. ‘‘I never
wanted to be a journalist,’’ he writes
at the beginning of this book. But he
did, and has been with The Times
of India, writing a weekly Sunday
Column called ‘‘Jugular Vein’’ as well
as a comic strip called ‘‘Dubyaman’’
depicting the post 9/11 world. Suraiya
is one of the international speakers
at the Kathmandu Literary Jatra
this weekend. Nepali Times caught
up with him before he left Delhi for
Kathmandu (with his passport):
Nepali Times: Your book deals with
the young JS Calcutta of the 1960s.
Is Calcutta home?
Jug Suraiya: My heart is indeed in
Calcutta. But it is a Calcutta of the
past, the people and places that
made it what it was are no longer
there. You can’’t call the past your
home. So where is home for me?
I’’m not sure. But I’’d like to think
of home not as a geographical
location but as a dispersed domain,
a constituency made up of my
readership. My home is where
people read me.
When is it the right time for a
journalist to do a book?
When the irresistible urge to do
a book overcomes the almost
immovable inertia of laziness. At
least, that’’s the way it was in my
case. Like Nike, I knew that I had to
just do it.
What is the role for satire when
everyday politics itself feels like a
tragic-comedy?
No satire or spoof can be as
outrageously farcical as the conduct
of the great majority of our so-called
political leaders,
who should more
aptly be called our
political bleeders
because by their
corrupt ways
they leach all
the blood out of
the body politic,
which is you
and me. Can you
further satirise or
spoof someone
who already is a
caricature of greed
and arrogance?
You can’’t. In our
subcontinent, the
satirist is a Don
Quixote tilting
against windmills
in a losing battle.
What can we do to make journalism
sharper and more hard-hitting so as
to get politicians and bureaucrats
who rule our daily lives sit up and
take notice?
Perhaps one idea might be to have a
day-to-day Corruption Report, like
we have the daily Weather Report,
which would record
the exact number of
reported bribes paid
the previous day, and
to whom.
You keep coming
back to Kathmandu,
what is the attraction?
Desmond Doig
introduced me to
Nepal way back in
1969. Since then, my
wife, Bunny, and I
have both fallen in
love with the country
and have visited
it more times than
we can count. What
is it that draws us
here? It’’s a sense
of belonging, which
is the gift that the people of
Nepal so generously and so
spontaneously give to all those
who visit the country. We’’d like
to thank Nepal for the recurrent
gift of hospitality that it has
always given us.
Interview with Jug Suraiya
7
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
her toes
THOMAS BELL
I
n her autobiography,
Is Life a Thorn or a
Flower? that won this
year’’s Madan Prize, Jhamak
Ghimire writes about her
struggle to learn the written
word despite suffering
from cerebral palsy that left
her unable to speak and
paralysed since childhood.
Ghimire taught herself to
write by clutching a twig
with her toes.
At 30, Ghimire has
now been thrust into
celebrityhood with
an autobiography that
describes her struggle for
self-expression, battling
discrimination from the
community and family,
fighting fatalism and
superstition in Nepali culture
at the same time.
She describes the first
time she wrote the letter
‘‘ka’’.““I could not share that
moment’’s joy with anyone,
my first letter was written
in the dust on the ground
and in my heart I could
pronounce it. I was so happy
that I rewrote the letter many
times.””
Ghimire recalls how
writing on the ground made
her foot bleed, yet her initial
efforts went unnoticed. ““Just
so that people would see
what I had written I wrote a
big ‘‘s’’ and left it there, but
far from looking at my letter
people stepped on it and my
first letter got erased without
anyone seeing it.””
Besides her prize-winning
book, Ghimire has published
four volumes of poetry, two
books of short stories and
many newspaper columns.
““I am very happy to get the
award,”” she wrote, replying
to questions with a pen
between her toes. ““But at
the same time I feel a sense
of responsibility. I will
start writing again soon.””
Ghimire’’s book will soon be
published in English.
The prominent Nepali
novelist and translator
Manjushree Thapa
praised Ghimire’’s work.
““Jhamak Kumari Ghimire’’s
expression seems to
have gained elegance not
despite, but because of, the
physical challenges she has
overcome,”” says Thapa,
““she speaks for an entire
generation when she writes:
‘‘Father! Why are you siring
/renegade children like
me?’’””
nepalitimes.com
Jhamak speaks, Book Review #516
A renegade child of the hills #468
Of poverty and poems #105
Jhamak ghimire by Chhong256
8 LIFE TIMES
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
Time: 6pm to 7pm
Poetry Recitations in Different Languages
Venue: NMB Hall (Inside Adarsha Kanya
Niketan School)
These events are free and open to the public
T
he Kathmandu Literary Jatra is a threeday festival that provides a platform
for discourse on Nepali literature. Held
at different venues within the Patan Durbar
Square complex, the festival will host 55
national and 12 international writers and
poets and feature readings, workshops and
discussions pertaining to Nepal and South Asia.
Time: 2.30pm to 3.30pm
Session: The New Age of News presented by
The Asia Foundation.
Akhilesh Upadhyay, Kunda Dixit, Mohammed
Hanif, Prashant Jha and Tarun Tejpal
Time: 4pm to 5pm
Session: Writing and Change.
Sujeev Shakya, Rabindra Mishra, Gopal
Thakur and Sarad Pradhan
Time: 1.30pm to 2.30pm
Session: Ashoka Mauryan and his Legacy.
Nayanjot Lahiri introduced by Rohit Ranjitkar
Time: 2.30pm to 3.30pm
Session: Dalits in Nepali Literature.
Ahuti, Bidushi Dhungel, Khagendra Sangraula
and P Sivakami
Time: 3.30pm to 4.30pm
Session: Immersed in Nepali Literature
Abhi Subedi introduced by Ammar Raj Joshi
Time: 5pm to 6pm
Session: Getting Things Done! Presented by
Rotary Club of Yala.
Karna Sakya introduced by Prafulla Man
Singh Pradhan
JATRA DAY II
JATRA DAY I
Venue: Patan Museum Courtyard
Venue: Patan Museum Courtyard
Time: 3.30pm to 4.30pm
Session: Bridging the Language Divide.
Alka Saraogi, Anmole Prasad, Yuyutsu RD
Sharma and Namita Gokhale
Time: 4.30pm to 5.30pm
Session: Insurgencies and Nepali Literature.
Khagendra Sangraula, Narayan Wagle, Gopal
Ashka and Govinda Bartaman
Time: 2pm to 3.30pm
Inauguration
Time: 4pm to 5pm
Session: Nepali Literature in the Age of
Democracy.
Gopal Ashka, Narayan Dhakal, Sanjeev Uprety
and Sharada Sharma
Time: 5.30pm to 6.30pm
Session: The East India Company, the
Mughals, and the Gorkhali Empire.
William Dalrymple in conversation with Kanak
Mani Dixit
Venue: NMB Hall
Time: 10am to 11am
Session: Narratives as a Window to History.
William Dalrymple and Aditya Adhikari
Time: 5pm to 6pm
Session: Uncovering the Truth.
Tarun Tejpal in conversation with Anagha
Neelakantan
Time: 11am to 12pm
Session: Languages of Nepal: A New
Renaissance?
Amrit Yonjan Tamang, Dhirendra Premarshi,
Gopal Thakur, Sulochana Manandhar and
Yug Pathak
Time: 10am to 11am
Session: Being a Woman, Becoming a Writer.
Gyanu Pandey, Anbika Giri, Sanjeev Uprety
and Momila
Time: 11am to 12pm
Session: The Power of Social Media.
Anil Chitrakar introduced by Nayan Pokhrel
Sindhuliya
Time: 4.30pm to 5.30pm
Session: Open Minds: Libraries and Treasure
Troves of Stories presented by German Book
Ofce.
Akshay Pathak, Reshu Aryal Dhungana, Paro
Anand and Shazia Omar
Venue: Patan Durbar Square
Time: 8am to 10am
Event: Heritage Walks
Sign up in advance
Time: 10am to 11am
Event: Poetic Pie: Slices from Different
Languages
LIFE TIMES 9
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
Time: 11.30am to 12.30pm
Event: Book Launch: Bhakata Prasad
Bhyaguto
Time: 11am to 3pm
Event:Children’’s art activities and reading
Sign up in advance
JATRA DAY III
Time: 2.30pm to 3.30pm
Session: Nepali Literature Beyond Nepal.
Devendra Bhattarai, Indra Bahadur Rai, Susan
Waten and Ujjwal Prasai
Time: 3.30pm to 4.30pm
Session: Selling out, or telling it like it is?
Getting real in South Asian ction.
Namita Gokhale, P. Sivakami, Shazia Omar
and Rabi Thapa
Venue: Patan Museum Courtyard
Time: 11am to 12pm
Session: Sumnima to Sakambari: Female
Characters in Modern Nepali Novels.
Archana Thapa, Krishna Dharabasi, Sudha
Tripathi and Nayan Raj Pandey
Time: 10am to 11am
Session: Politics in Nepali Universities.
Gagan Thapa, Manushi Yami Bhattarai
Pratyoush Onta and Ram Kumari Jhakri
Time: 4.30pm to 5.30pm
Session: Urdu and English - Walking Two
Worlds.
Mohammed Hanif in conversation with Sophia
Pande
Time: 5.30pm to 6.30pm
Session: The Future of Nepali Language.
Archana Thapa, Buddhisagar, Narayan Wagle
and Rajendra Bimal
Time: 11am to 12pm
Session: The Man Behind the Words.
Jug Suraiya in conversation with Dubby
Bhagat
Alka Saraogi in conversation with Uday
Adhikari
Venue: NMB Hall
Time: 10am to 11am
Session: Kali-katha: via Bypass.
Venue: Manga Hiti
(Dhunge Dhara)
Time: 10am to 7pm
photo.circle presents Retelling Histories
16 to 18 September
Time: 12.30pm to 1.30pm
Session: Chittadhar Hridaya and the Newari
Bhasa Renaissance.
Subarna Man Tuladhar introduced by Prawin
Adhikari
Time: 1.30pm to 2.30pm
Session: Book Markets: Local Scope, National
Ambitions.
Shazia Omar, Kiran Krishna Shrestha, Sujeev
Shakya and Akshay Pathak
““Retelling Histories,”” organised by photo.circle,
explores Nepal’’s cultural memory through an
exhibition of archived photography from old
family albums, dug up and contextualized. As
part of the Nepal Picture Library, the project
engages viewers in Nepal’’s history and
identity through images.
Time: 2.30pm to 3.30pm
Session: Maithili: A Literary History.
Rajendra Bimal introduced by Dhirendra
Premarshi
Time: 3.30pm to 4.30 pm
Event: Tagore Play: The Parable of the Lost
Post Ofce by Parnab Mukherjee
SOMEPLACE ELSE
I
mago Dei offers a glimpse
of Kathmandu’’s well to
do in mid-week play:
broods straight from Stepford
convene on comfy couches;
clean-cut, architectural types
in an adjacent art space
discuss over frites and beauty
queen runner-ups primp up
on their laptops. The café
gallery in Gairidhara boasts
a pleasant atmosphere that
encourages social dates and
casual conferences in style.
Its whitewashed, wide-open
space with red accented
walls, high ceilings and
natural lighting are ideal
for vernissages and mixers.
Imago Dei
MARCO POLLO
But despite its divinely
inspired moniker and airy
environment, Imago Dei’’s
fare is lackluster and far from
ambrosial.
Its version of adobo,
chicken or pork cooked in a
ginger and hot and sour sauce
reduction, doesn’’t do justice
to the Spanish or Filipino
dish. The meal was too salty,
even with a mound of brown
rice, and tasted more like a
Chinese stir-fry. Sanepa’’s U
Café maintains the standard
for adobo in the city.
On the list of specials,
the bacon avocado wrap,
according to the server, has
been long unavailable. Then,
why advertise? So to our
dismay, we opted for the
Mexican taco wrap, which
was disappointing: chopped
salad and minced chicken
(barely traceable) folded
into a moo-shoo style wrap.
And the fish and chips apart
from its watered-down mayo
dip was good but not worth
Rs 400 and could be better
served with malt vinegar,
London-style.
Pasta options are
abundant, but the spaghetti
was overcooked and the
tomato sauce and chicken
meatballs lacked seasoning.
Imago Dei’’s redemption
aside from its inviting space
is found in its ends. As a
starter or snack, the spinach
and artichoke dip and chips
is a cheese concoction that
will have customers relishing
in seconds. Desserts like
homemade macaroons and
tiramisu pair well with a cup
of French-pressed brew or a
sup of imported liqueur.
Look into Imago Dei to
meet friends and colleagues
over snacks or cakes and
coffee, but steer clear of priceblinding specials that leave us
hankering elsewhere.
Marco Pollo
Up road from Darbar Marg,
find the cafe facing the eastern
wall of Narayanhiti Museum
Service
Bread ‘‘n water
Space
Deal-icious
Rep-eat?
10 HAPPENINGS
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
Safe drugs
for a disease y, first you
need an adequate sample
DHANVANTARI
size of patients with disease
Buddha Basnyat, MD y who will be administered
the drug x. To a similar
number of patients you need
to administer a sugar pill
n Western medicine, there
or a dummy pill, called a
was a time when a famous
““placebo”” in medical speak.
doctor would proclaim
Then over a certain period
the usefulness of a certain
of time, if you can show
medicine and many of us
that those in the drug arm
in the medical profession
of the trial did better than
would agree wholeheartedly,
in the placebo arm of the
without questioning. Now,
trial, you may be able
to conclude that the
drug X is effective
against the disease
y. But the difference
in effectiveness has
to be what is called,
““significant””.
And this
significance is
determined by
statistical testing
which tries to
you need hard evidence. In
eliminate ““chance”” as the
the 1950s, it was Bradford
cause for drug x being more
Hill who started the process
effective. To eliminate the
of doing proper drug trials
chance factor, randomisation
to determine the efficacy of
is very important.
drugs.
For example in
The evidence-based
determining who receives the
concept is now called
placebo versus the drug in
randomised controlled trial
question, the choice has to be
( RCT). In the classic RCT,
random. If the patient is preto determine if drug x works
I
selected to receive the drug
or the placebo then you have
introduced bias (chance) into
the study.
One of the first diseases
to be subjected to human
trials was tuberculosis. At
one time only one drug
was used for TB, then RCTs
revealed that the disease
responded significantly better
to combination of drugs
than just one drug. This
lesson was carried over for
a more modern scourge, the
HIV virus against which a
combination therapy is now
utilized.
RCTs are now also made
use of for studying the
efficacy of vaccines. The
injectable typhoid vaccine
that is used worldwide
was first studied here in
Kathmandu by Dr I L Acharya
and colleagues in the early
1980s using the RCT concept.
Finally, besides efficacy,
adverse events or side effects
of drug also have to be
assessed properly to avoid
the kind of tragedy that the
drug ““thalidomide”” caused.
So, a world of regulations
has spawned around RCTs to
make sure drugs are safe and
effective.
WEEKEND WEATHER
by NGAMINDRA DAHAL
The three strategic low pressure zones over Asian continents are shifting their positions,
and will affect the performance of South Asian Monsoon. The Satellite picture of Thursday
afternoon shows one over Tashkent, the other over Chengdu (China) and the third over
India. This means heavy showers in most of the country during and beyond this weekend.
Expect cooler days with fresh showers and gradual departure of monsoon from the west
in about a week after.
KATHMANDU
FRI
SAT
SUN
25-18
25-18
26-19
BIKRAM RAI
DIVINE DANCE: Masked dancers perform during the Indra Jatra festival
at Basantapur Darbar Square on Sunday.
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DIFFERENT VIEW: Pulbata Herda, adapted from Arthur Miller’’s A View from
the Bridge, being staged at Rimal Theater, Gurukul, on Tuesday.
BIKASH DWARE
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DEGREE: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai meets vice-chancellors of
ve universities to discuss their activities at Singa Darbar on Tuesday.
PM Bhattarai kept his promise to re-open the universities that were
padlocked by protesting professors’’ unions.
LITERARY JATRA 11
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
RABI THAPA
T
he Kathmandu Literary
Jatra is in town. The
glorious courtyards of
the Patan Museum are set to
play host to unprecedented
intellectual discourse over
the weekend. Three score
and more national and
international writers will
hold forth on languages,
minority voices, journalism,
politics, history and books,
books, books. The cynic
may deride such events as
mere celebrity chaff, but this
is as much about bringing
writers to their audiences
–– for intellectual interaction
–– as anything else. For Nepali
audiences keen to get a grip
on how their many-hued
country is being represented
in these crucial times of
uncertainty, the Jatra may
provide some answers.
Telling tales?
For writers of fiction,
questions of representation
have always been tricky.
This is especially the case
for those using languages
that don’’t originate in
the societies that they are
describing. Take a Nepali
writing in English about
Nepal: who is the writer
writing for? Locals or globals?
In Nepal, if a writer’’s
compatriots are not full of
praise for her latest work,
they are liable to be attacking
her for having misrepresented
the Nepali culture, as if there
were ever such a monolithic
culture beyond the outdated,
state-sponsored notions of
dhaka topi and dalbhat. So
when Samrat Upadhyay
debuted with ‘‘Arresting
God in Kathmandu’’ (2001)
and dared to allow his
characters to indulge in
carnal relations, there was
something of an outcry.
While no one could deny the
fact of Nepalis having sex
(otherwise we wouldn’’t be
here at all), many felt that it
was unnecessary to dwell on
the fact. It was smutty, it was
not representative of Nepali
culture, they said, why
exaggerate?
Many more words have
flowed under the Bagmati
Bridge since, and the river
ain’’t getting any cleaner.
Or perhaps it’’s just the
stodgy nature of some
Nepali readers. Ten years
on, I published, and was
predictably criticised for
apparently dwelling too long
on Kathmandu’’s indolent
youth, who couldn’’t possibly
spend all their time on
smoke, sex, and swearing.
Just because you’’re an
upstanding citizen who
disapproves of your sons and
daughters doing the same,
I wanted to tell them, don’’t
imagine everyone else is.
But the flip side to
excessive (thus supposedly
unrealistic) reality is
exoticisation. We’’ve all heard
about Orientalism, but what
about Self-Orientalising,
whereby a writer internalises
Western notions of the East,
and imbues her fiction with
an excess of spirituality or
exotica? Take Upadhyay’’s
debut again. Does the
juxtaposition of ‘‘Gods’’ and
‘‘Kathmandu’’ in the title not
invoke the idea of Shangri-La,
never mind that ‘‘arresting’’
them speaks of a more
mundane reality? Again,
before the publication of
my own book, the publisher
and I spent quite some time
debating the title, cover and
the blurb on the back. It was
important to represent it a
certain way, and needless
to say, we disagreed. Come
the next round, I almost
dare not dwell on steaming
cups of tea, spices, arranged
marriages, gods and
demons any longer than is
necessary, lest I be accused of
exoticising my own culture,
either out of romanticism or a
calculated eye to the bottom
line.
‘‘Selling out, or telling
it like it is? Getting real in
South Asian fiction’’ is the
title of the session I will be
moderating on the final day
of the Kathmandu Literary
Jatra (replacing the one
on biography with Patrick
French). It will feature Indian
writers Namita Gokhale and
P Sivakami and Bangladeshi
writer Shazia Omar, and will
attempt to apportion blame
between writers, publishers
and dear readers. This
session, along with 30 others,
will attempt to get at the story
behind the story, literally and
literarily. This, we hope, is
what the Jatra is all about.
12 NATION
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
A far-away rescue
Young girls from the remote
mountains of northwestern
Nepal who were trafficked
to the southern tip of India
are rescued this week
Shangmo with her elder daughter Jael
RUBEENA MAHATO in COIMBATORE, INDIA
I
n the suburbs of
Coimbatore at Sulur,
the first thing that one
notices in the impressively
walled Michael Job Centre
is the sheer enormity of the
complex.
There is a school, a post
graduate level college and an
orphanage in the sprawling
premises housing some 500
girls that the organization
claims are abandoned
or orphaned children of
Christian martyrs. The last
thing one would expect to
find there are young girls
from the remote Nepali
district of Humla. But there
they are, all 23 of them with
Christian names living for
the past nine years here
as orphans despite having
parents back home.
They were rescued
from the centre last week
at the initiative of the
Esther Benjamins Memorial
Foundation (EBMF), Nepal,
Childline India and the Child
Welfare Committee (CWC) at
the state of Tamil Nadu.
EBMF got into action
when the families of four
girls from Humla requested
them to find their missing
daughters. The parents of
the girls had sent them along
with their brothers in the care
of Dal Bahadur Phadera, a
local politician.
Many families in Humla
had paid Phadera Rs 520,000 to get their children
out of war-ravaged villages
at the time and educate
PICS: RUBEENA MAHATO
them in boarding schools in
Kathmandu. The boys are
still in the institution run
by Phadera, but the girls,
between 3 to 7 years old,
were taken away nine years
ago. Their families never
heard from them.
When rescued, many
girls didn’’t remember their
parents’’ names or where they
came from. They have been
given Christian names and
identities.
In the website of Michael
Job Centre, the girls are
falsely depicted as children
of Christian martyrs in Nepal
murdered by Maoists. The
Centre runs on the donations
given by Christians from all
over the world for ‘‘orphans’’.
In one of the pages of the
website was where we first
saw pictures of Anna Bella,
Daniela, Persius and Jael
(Christian names given by
the centre, original names
withheld). Their mother and
brother had made a three
The
After decades of
trafficking, there are
no young women left in
northern Nuwakot
KAPILDEV KHANAL in NUWAKOT
S
PICS: KAPILDEV KHANAL
CLOSE CALL: Selmendo Tamang (centre) with her father-in- law and husband. Selmendo was being trafcked by her own uncle, but escaped (above). Fifty-two year old Selbon Tamang is still unmarried because there are no girls of marriageable age left in his village (right).
elbon Tamang (pictured, right)
is 52, and for most of his adult
life he has been searching for
a bride in his village of Sisipu of
Nuwakot. But there aren’’t any. This
village 90km north of Kathmandu has
no young women left: they have all
been trafficked to brothels in India.
Selbon is not alone. There are
hundreds of young men here in
northern Nuwakot who can’’t find
brides. It is estimated that more than
5,000 of the women from this remote
mountain region are in brothels in
Mumbai and other cities in India.
““I have been searching for a
bride for the last 11 years, but only
underaged girls are left in the village,””
says Kanchha Tamang, 37, of Sisipu.
Ghangphedi’’s population growth
has gone down to below replacement
rate fertility.
Even married women are being
tricked and sold, sometimes by
NATION 13
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
days journey from Humla to
join us in Kathmandu for the
trip to Coimbatore in India’’s
southern tip. Persius and
Jael’’s mother Shangmo Lama
had never before been in a car
before. After a long and tiring
journey to Coimbatore, a frail
Shangmo smiled for the first
time when we stepped inside
the gate of the Centre to get
back her daughters. She had
waited nine years for this
moment.
At first, the principal
of the centre flatly denied
having any Nepali children at
the centre. But she was forced
to accept having illegally kept
the girls as orphans when the
photos of the children and
the mother were shown.
Outside, a very Nepali
looking girl’’s face stopped
me. After few exchanges
in English, I asked if she
was Nepali. The girl’’s face
brightened up. Lynsy then
gave me her Nepali name,
informed there were now 23
of them left in the centre and
that they have not forgotten
to speak Nepali. Soon the
news spread of the team
from Nepal and Nepali girls
surrounded the principal’’s
office.
There was noisy chatter
and a sense of jubilation in
the office. Some of the girls
were seven years old and all
had parents and families back
home and hadn’’t heard from
them in all these years.
It was an emotional
scene when Shangmo met
her girls, who at first failed
to recognise their mother.
But her brother’’s daughter
Daniela instantly recognised
her aunt.
PP Job, the centre’’s
founder has denied having
known that the children had
families in Nepal. The selfstyled Christian preacher
has alleged that the children
were brought to him by
Phadera and that the center
has only provided good
education and living to these
underprivileged children.
““It is illegal under the
Indian law to bring children,
orphaned or not from Nepal
to India, and house them
in an institution here. It is
a clear case of trafficking,””
Nandita Rao, Childline’’s
lawyer told Nepali Times.
The Centre is now under
investigation by the social
welfare department in Tamil
Nadu and has been given 15
days to furnish details and
prove that it was not involved
in child trafficking. On
Monday, 500 activists from
different Hindu organisations
staged a protest outside the
orphanage accusing it of
proselytizing.
““Poor countries are
turning into a missionary
haven for religious zealots
and this has led to a new
form of trafficking,”” says
Philips Holmes of Esther
Benjamins Memorial
Foundation. The girls are
now on their way home by
train via Gorakhpur.
The girls had kept the
memory of their home
An emotional Anna Bella breaks
down at seeing her aunt
country alive for nearly a
decade, and were full of
pride as they sang the Nepali
national anthem for the
rescue party from Nepal.
They had memorized the
words from the mobile ring
tone of a Nepali visiting the
center.
Said an ecstatic Sabita
Bogati: ““I want to go home. I
would not mind walking all
the way to Nepal.””
POST SCRIPT: EBMF is now
preparing to file charges
against Phadera on charges
of trafficking. In India, child
rights organisations have
taken up the issue and are
now planning to bring PP
Job and his accomplices to
book. Efforts to repatriate
children trafficked from Tibet
and Bhutan who were also
kept in the centre are now
underway. But even if the
children are reunited, their
lost years, separation from
parents and loss of identity
will never be returned.
nepalitimes.com
Circus slave, #504
Juggling with young lives, # 405
missing half
relatives in India. ““My wife was sold
by her own relatives to a brothel in
Kolkata,”” says Lal Bahadur Tamang
of Shikharbesi. The trafficking
ringleader, Chhopa, alias Kale
Tamang, was finally caught last
month (see box). Chhopa sold
another woman, Kumari, just 37 days
after she married Mangale Tamang,
tricking her with promise of a job.
Asmita Thapa of the anti-trafficking
organisation, Shakti Samuha, says
Kumari was sold to a brothel in
Kolkata run by her own aunt.
There are those who return
to tell horrific stories of abuse
and exploitation. Among them is
Thulimaya (name changed) who has
returned after working in brothels
in Mumbai for 25 years. As seems
to be often the case, after five years
of working in a brothel, Thulimaya
started running her own.
Kamal Sitaula, a teacher in
Shikharbesi believes young women
at first don’’t know that they are
going to be sex workers. They are
attracted by the glamorous tales of
wealth by relatives who have returned
from Mumbai or Kolkata to recruit.
Sitaula estimates that 60 women from
Ghyangphedi run their own brothels
in India, and they regularly seek fresh
young girls from the village.
Eighteen-year-old Selmendo
Tamang’’s (pictured, left, centre) own
uncle took her to Rasuwa to sell her
off. ““It was only when police arrived
that I realised I was about to be sold,””
Selmendo recalls. Her marriage to
Aitaman Tamang last year was been
the only marriage in Sisiphu in the
last eight years.
Ask any parent here about their
missing daughters and the standard
answer is: ““She is in college in the
city””. Bishnu Prasad Acharya, the
principal of a primary school in
Simtang says more than 15 girls from
his school have been trafficked.
Government apathy, political
protection of recruiters and lack of
opportunities mean that the social
structure of villages here is falling
apart. But local communities are
now working to spread awareness,
and Shakti Shamuha is carrying out
rescue and rehabilitation.
himalkhabar.com
Longer version (Nepali)
Get out of jail
Kale Tamang alias Chhopa, 41, who has
been responsible for many of the cases
of trafcking from Nuwakot, was nally
caught by police last month. In a career
spanning 16 years since 1996, Chhopa
is estimated to have trafcked at least
400 women. Police here say there are
another 30 people who are still at large.
However, anti-trafcking activists are
worried that middlemen are trying to
get Chhopa out of jail by posting a Rs 6
million bail.
Back with HIV
Kanchimaya Tamang is 49. She was
sold to a brothel in India by her relatives
when she was a teenager. When she got
infected with HIV, she was sent back to
Nepal. In the last three years, seventeen
people have died due to HIV/AIDS in
Shikharbesi alone. There are many
women like Kanchimaya with HIV in
Shikharbesi, and many have married
because of the shortage of brides.
14 FROM THE NEPALI PRESS
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
Peace first
BIKRAM RAI
Editorial in Nepal Samacharpatra, September 11
Two weeks into ofce, the Bhattarai government has
already come under re from opposition parties NC
and UML for its neglect of the peace process. They
had earlier expressed commitment to support the
government based on its merit. But the latest comments
by the leaders in the opposition indicate that the
parties are unhappy with the way things have been
handled so far.
Having seen two governments come and go
without making much difference to the peace process,
there is an enormous burden of hope on the present
government. So, the opposition’’s rhetoric casts a
shadow of doubt on public that it may face similar
fate. The NC and UML have accused the Maoists
of avoiding the major issues of peace process:
integration and rehabilitation of ex-combatants,
focusing solely on constitution drafting. The meeting
held between the two parties last week concluded
with an understanding that they would push for
decisive breakthrough on the peace process before
cooperating on constitution drafting.
Even the coalition partner, the Madhesi front
showed remarkable exibility by dropping their
demand for immediate induction of 10,000 Madhesis
in the Nepal Army, on condition that the future
recruitments in NA would be inclusive in nature.
The Maoists must exhibit similar exibility by
respecting concerns of all the major political
stakeholders and work towards taking the peace
process to its logical end before focusing on
constitution drafting.
Madarsa
futures
Rajdhani, 11 September
The government hasn’’t
yet granted permission to
madarsas to run secondary
level education. This
has been a let-down for
girls from the Muslim
community in Nepalganj.
Their dreams of pursuing
higher education has come
to an abrupt halt as their
poor parents can’’t afford
to send them to public
schools. Madarsa Darulam
in Neplaganj has been
running classes till Grade
8. The principal, Maulana
Mustafa Nurani says: ““We
have met all the required
criteria including a two
storey building with 17
rooms but we haven’’t yet
been granted permission to
run classes above Grade 8.””
Madarsas are religious
schools run by the Muslim
community where students
are taught free of cost.
Muslim parents who find
the environment of other
schools unsafe prefer to
send their daughters to
madarsas. So, parents
hesitate sending their
daughters elsewhere.
Udhav Shrestha, head
of school inspection for
Banke says that the DEO
has issued license to 118
madarsas. Among them, five
provide lower secondary
level education and one,
secondary level education.
The inability of community
run madarsas to fall in the
government’’s education
policy has adversely
affected the lives of many
students.
FROM THE NEPALI PRESS 15
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
““Baburam has
betrayed us””
Interview with Maoist politburo member Netra Bikram Chand, in
Karobar, 11 September
Karobar: Why has the conict within the party increased after the
formation of Maoist- led government?
Netra Bikram Chand: It is only natural because we have not yet agreed with
the government formation process, its policies and programs. The issues
that we had agreed on including army integration, state restructuring wasn’’t
implemented. We are leading the government but its policies have been
changed. Especially on the army integration things haven’’t gone according
to our agreement. Before regrouping they moved ahead with arms handover.
Even Jhalanath Khanal hadn’’t agreed to that, and it has led to dissatisfaction
within our party.
What is the main disagreement on?
There are two things that need
to be concluded before the army
integration. Whether or not the PLA
will be included in the national army
needs to be decided rst. Depending
on this decision further provisions
regarding its structure need to be
made. Furthermore, an effective relief
package should be provided for the
rehabilitation of the soldiers in PLA.
But Babram Bhattari, after being
appointed prime minister took Pushpa
Kamal Dahal to his side and drifted
away from the party’’s decision.
What is the issue over the keys
handover?
Everything rests on the keys. The
pride of the people’’s army and Nepal’’s
revolutionary movement lie on those keys. Handing over the keys is a
symbolic gesture and means hading over the PLA too.
But your faction is said to have agreed to this.
Sometimes even lies seem to work in politics. They shouldn’’t have kept us in
the dark over the changed decision. Pushpa Kamal Dahal had removed the
decision of handing over the keys, but he changed this in the nal decision.
He put on a fake show.
But you seem to want the ministries, right?
Had it been about ministries we’’d have given up our stand on these issues to
please Prachanda and Baburam. We have only been opposing their decision
because it contradicts our belief. Whether we want to give in to the status quo
or move ahead has been the main issue amongst us.
Will the Baidya faction be a part of this government?
They have made a huge mistake by handing over the key. We are ready to
work together if they are willing to correct their mistake. They have to take
their decision back.
Is it true that the Baidya faction is dissolving the party?
Those who have been accusing us are just doing it for their momentary self
indulgence. And as for the internal struggle, it will last only until everyone is
ready to agree to come to single point of understanding.
Door: State
Package: Relief
Deven in Nagarik, 11 September
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
““
““
I have been receiving threats, but we will continue
our supervision and nobody will be spared.
Yubaraj Khatiwada, Governor, Nepal Rastra Bank
16 SOCIETY
Ani’’s story
W
hen fame came to her as
Nepal’’s famous ‘‘singing
nun’’ few knew the true
story of the struggle of this refugee
child growing up in Kathmandu. In
fact, the outside world knew more
about Ani Choying than Nepalis
themselves. Now, Publication
nepa~laya is bringing out the
Nepali translation of Ani Choying
Drolma’’s autobiography, Phoolko
Ankhama.
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
The singer of the hit song Phoolko Ankhama,
is coming to Nepali readers as a writer
Ani Choying’’s heart-rending
story of her childhood and her
decision to become a nun is told in
simple, yet deep prose. Very early
in life, Ani Choying learnt to be
self-reliant, and was motivated to
take up the challenges of life, and
to help others like her.
Being born to her mother was
the first good thing that happened
to Ani Choying, and being a nun
was the second best. ““If I had
not become a nun, I would have
probably been an unidentified
wife and a mother of probably
3-4 children,”” confesses Ani
Choying. ““My decision to become
a nun and the blessings I from
my mentors, has made my life
more worthwhile. I am thankful
that through the talent my Gurus
helped me identify, I have been
able to serve many people and our
society.””
Ani Choying’’s positive outlook
on life has made her living proof
that a troubled childhood is not
the end of the world, but can open
new horizons in life. Phoolko
Ankhama is the Nepali translation
of the original published in
French in 2008 by Oh! Editions.
French writer, Laurence Debril
collaborated with Ani Choying in
structuring the story.
Since then, the book has been
published in 12 languages: French,
German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch,
English, Portuguese, Russian,
Polish, Slovenian and Hungarian.
The Nepali edition of the book has
been translated in collaboration
with Girish Giri.
““I could have written three
books during the time I spent
working on this,”” says Giri, ““but it
was a really worthwhile experience
to collaborate with Ani on the
Nepali translation.””
Kiran Krishna Shrestha of
nepa~laya says the book will be
released before Dasain. ““There are
many books written and published
around the world on Nepal, which
remain unnoticed by Nepali
readers,”” says Shrestha, ““this book
marks the beginning of our effort to
bring world literature on Nepal to
the Nepali public.””
The book is being published in
Nepali with formal arrangement with
the original copyright owners, Oh!
Editions of France.
For her part, Ani Choying says
she is glad her book has come out
in Nepali after being read in 11
languages. ““I am glad my story is
finally coming home to Nepal,”” she
says. She has contributed all the
earnings from her book to the welfare
of kidney patients in Nepal.
The English translation of Singing
for Freedom is published by Pier 9.
nepalitimes.com
Songs of peace, #554
Music video of Phoolko Ankhama
LITERARY JATRA 17
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
Quicksand nation
Collection of Wayne Amtzis poetry looks at
Nepal’’s war in the context of the unhappy peace
that preceded and followed it
T
he core of Sand
Castle City/
Quicksand Nation
written in Kathmandu by
Wayne Amtzis between
2003 and 2008, during the
Maoist insurrection and
aftermath, are emotive,
sound-driven poems born
of sickness and disquiet.
It is an outsider’’s attempt
to empathise with a
country and people
tearing themselves apart
and more universal
ruminations on violence,
torture, impunity and
death. The work that
opens and closes the
book, however, was
composed mostly in the early 1990’’s and in the present day.
These image-driven depictions of street-life in Kathmandu
present a city-dweller’’s recounting of the world he passes
through; poems formed with a detached and an omnivorous
eye. In the first instance the aim was catharsis and in the
second, awareness. Says Amtzis: ““The aim for the conflict
poems was catharsis and for the street poems, awareness. My
concern throughout was with how lives are lived and suffering
endured.””
The reader can see the years of violence in the context of
the unhappy peace that preceded and followed it. These are
poems of witness that ask the reader to look through the images
to the world that brought them forth, and feel through the
sounded words to the emotions that engendered them. In both
instances they ask that a judgment be made.
THE TASK
““peace decays forever”” ––Jean Follain
A tall woman in a tent-like dress,
raises a tray of rocks
to her head. Coolness and heat
at play on her skin, air and blood at war
in her ease. As she treads the mud path,
from rock-strewn street
to wall-less tower, a hint of rain
aslant the air, neither hurries
nor halts her steps. From an all-day vantage,
she stands in place and never moves,
un-told, unaccounted for,
a traceable sadness drawing us
to her eyes. Across the street,
worlds apart, a trio of blind schoolgirls
chatter as they walk.
The sole seeing sister among them,
clearing the path with her single-minded stare,
wary at what stands in the way,
yet sure-footed in her shepherding,
as they are, hand in hand, in halting grace,
linked in new-found pride
that draws them in a single wave
on and on...
Far from these lives, on the see-saw,
in the grand public display,
(while the usual sycophants and hacks
––the better to see by–– crowd round,
tossing matches in the air)
in packs, the leapfrogging leaders
stammer and squeal…… as their bottoms
settle in, as they push and rise,
their feet barely touching the ground.
So careless in the to and fro,
in their squabbling rites of succession
that they…… Or is just monkey see
monkey do they do not care,
they know they’’ll make a monkey
out of you. They know……
when the accounting is done
it is the clerk in the requisite government ofce
(rst this one, then that) who explains
––with registry, signature and stamp––
how much it takes
to complete…… (and while sipping tea,
how much more!)
to initiate…… the glorious
task at hand.
18 BACK SIDE
www.nepalitimes.com
16 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2011 #571
Something cooking in the kitchen cabinet
T
Tihar for a month after that you can
bet your bottom that this is going
to another one of those hair-raising
photo nishes.
Ever heard
of deep vein
thrombosis?
because BRB now thinks ying 40
hours roundtrip with long layovers in
cattle class is just too much trouble,
and we hear that he is trying to call
off the trip.
FG
And that may be just as well with
all the knife-sharpening that is
going on. Com Red Flag faces
challenges on multiple fronts. The
Baidya faction is now publicly
accusing BRB of being a medium
rare Indian stooge. The NC is up in
arms about the 4-point pact and the
promise to induct 10,000 Madhesis
into the army. The UML’’s right
FG
wing Oli faction is irting with the
Maoists’’ left wing Baidya faction to
undermine Baburam. And then there
is Awesome the Enigmatic, who
just can’’t stand his vice-chairman’’s
superior intellect and is back to
wearing his Hawaiian shirt which
he always does when he is plotting
some big breakthrough.
FG
People are past caring, but the
donkey would like to remind
everyone that the next deadline for
CA extension is 30 November. With
the PM gone next week and then
the country closing down for Dasain
The party leadership seems to know
something that we don’’t: that this
time there won’’t be no extension
of the CA and that they’’ll have to
go for new elections. Which must
be why the Madhesi front was so
desperate to get plum posts in the
BRB coalition so that they could
make hay when the sun came out
and replenish their depleted war
chests. And, knowing how important
muscle power is at election time,
all parties are getting their militant
youth wings ready for some serious
booth capturing and arm twisting.
FG
Another sure proof that the
Baddies are girding up their loins
for elections is that even a former
Raja Baddie-turned-Mao Baddie
Gopal ““Shoe-thrower”” Kirati is
setting up an organization of Maoist
Kshetris. Which has prompted
Lekha Raj Bhatta, the Lion of the
West, to revive his non-Tharu
front for a territorial province in the
trans-Karnali of which he is already
the self-declared warlord. What
has prompted all this, according
to notoriously reliable sources, is
that the Baddies realized rather
belatedly that their ethnic identity
politics was having an anti-Maoist
backlash among the Bahun-Kshetris
who make up nearly a third of the
electorate.
FG
All is not well in the governing
coalition, the cabinet is still
incomplete and some Madhesi
ministers are openly deant of the
prime minister. Like Comrade JP
refusing to be party spokesman, and
telling BRB publicly that it would be
better if he got one of his yes-men to
do the job. But if the frequency and
length of meeting between the Gang
of Three, BRB, Sitola and Right
Honourable
Amreso Singh is
anything to go
by, something is
cooking in the
kitchen cabinet.
ISSN 1814-2613
here are two ways to look at
the prime minister’’s decision
not to y business on his trip to
New York next week. One is to see
this as proof that he is anti-business.
Or, we can say that by ying
economy he has shown that he is
serious about the economy.
This is a heads-I-lose-tailsyou-win situation, either way the
PM is going to be accused of
endangering his own health by
exposing himself to deep vein
thrombosis risk, or splurging the
national exchequer. Frankly, we
don’’t want a photo op with the
head of the Nepali delegation in the
General Assembly dozing off at the
desk, so please do us all a favour,
prime minister, and get yourself a
free upgrade. What would be much
more meaningful, though, (and
the Ass has just sent this email to
(bhattaraibaburam@gmail.com)
would be for the PM to refuse to
use the VIP departure lounge at
TIA and stand in line for one hour
at immigration and x-ray with the
rest of the hoi polloi and face what
Nepal’’s proles have to face every
day. But all this may be academic
CDO Regd No 194/056/57 Lalitpur, Central Region Postal Regd. No 09/066/67